Paul Finebaum Calls $110 Million College Football Coach ‘Fraudulent’

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Brendan Howe | Last updated Jul 25, 2025 9:00 PM ET

Despite having gone 7-6 during their first season competing in the SEC, the Oklahoma Sooners should be counting their lucky stars that Lincoln Riley is instead with the USC Trojans. That’s what prominent college football analyst Paul Finebaum believes, anyway.

“The thing that I’m most excited about (with) Big 10 media days is I wanna hear Lincoln Riley try to explain his last two years, because I can’t think of anybody who’s coaching (who) has been more fraudulent since his first year with Caleb Williams,” Finebaum said earlier this week. “And I say that as somebody who admires what Lincoln Riley did at OU — I didn’t admire the way he left.

“But I really think — and I know a lot of people are gnashing teeth in Norman and Oklahoma City and across that state — but I frankly believe Sooner Nation is better off today than it would’ve been had he stayed around.”

Riley’s tenure with the Trojans hasn’t panned out as either would’ve envisioned when he jumped ship in Norman and brought Williams with him. Riley has yet to vault them into the College Football Playoff while putting together a 26-14 record. USC went an unimpressive 15-11 over the past two seasons.

Before Riley, Clay Helton served as the Trojans’ head coach from 2016-21. He finished his time in that post with a 46-24 mark.

“I am underwhelmed and I can’t think of a coach in modern time who’s making the kind of money that he’s making who has done less,” Finebaum said of Riley.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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